Who runs the site
CursorCraft is built and maintained by a tiny editorial team that came up on Game Boys, NES emulators, and very beige PCs. We started the directory because every existing cursor catalogue we tried in the late 2010s either felt like spyware, lost its packs to dead links inside a year, or tried to monetize a free download with three different toolbar installers. We thought a focused, clean directory of just retro pixel-art cursors would be a useful corner of the internet.
What “retro pixel-art cursor” means here
Specifically: cursors designed at the native pixel grid (almost always 16×16, sometimes 32×32 for high-DPI), using a deliberately limited palette, and shipping the full set of operating-system cursor states. We do not list 1024×1024 “glossy gradient” cursors, mouse trails, or animated arrow trails that follow your pointer like a comet — those are great, but they belong on a different site. We list pixel art.
Editorial process
Every pack on CursorCraft is added by hand. The intake checklist is short:
- The pack covers all twelve standard cursor states (pointer, hand, text, busy, working, link, help, crosshair, precision, move, resize, unavailable).
- The pack ships at three sizes (32, 48, 64) or scales cleanly without antialiasing artifacts.
- The license is clearly stated, and we surface the exact license string on the pack page.
- The pack credits its original author (or, for procedural sets, names the studio responsible).
- The download is virus-scanned and hosted from the same origin as the listing — no third-party redirects.
Packs that fail the checklist either get sent back to the author with notes or are not listed.
Where the data comes from
The CursorCraft directory pulls from several open sources, including OpenGameArt’s Creative Commons cursor archive and the long-running Cursor.cc community gallery. For aesthetic categories that no real-world archive covers cleanly (Synthwave Grid, Mecha Pilot), we generate themed packs in-house and label them as such on the pack page.
How we make money
Display advertising on the site, served as standard AdSense slots in clearly labeled positions (header, in-content, sidebar, footer). We do not run pop-ups, interstitials, autoplay video, or “true downloads” buttons that swap a real download for an installer. If you encounter any of those on a CursorCraft page, that is a bug — please tell us.
How to contribute
If you have made a pixel-art cursor pack you would like listed, the contact page takes submissions. We typically respond within a week. If you want to suggest a new collection (a palette or era we should be covering and aren’t), the same address works.
Contact
For takedown requests, listing corrections, business inquiries, and editorial feedback, see the contact page.